Grunts

Haemulidae

Haemulidae is a family of fishes in the order Perciformes, commonly referred to as grunts. This family encompasses two subfamilies, Haemulinae (grunters) and Plectorhynundefinede (sweetlips), comprising a total of approximately 133 species across 19 genera. These fishes can be found inhabiting tropical fresh, brackish, and salt waters worldwide.

Grunts are characterized as bottom-feeding predators and are particularly notable for their unique ability to produce sound through teeth grinding, which gives them their name. Additionally, they exhibit a mutually beneficial relationship with cleaner gobies from the genus Elacatinus. This cooperation allows the grunts to benefit by having ectoparasites on their bodies removed, while also providing nourishment for the cleaner gobies.